XMen: A New Battle
by Cable Addict
Summary: A new arrival at Xavier's school causes one mutant to fall. Hard. What will happen in the mean time? Love, kidnappings, marriage, war and possibly...death. Pyro/OC, Rogue/Bobby, Kitty/Leech, Logan/Storm. Please review if you read!
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for the following plot and original characters. Seriously, if I was the owner of Hugh Jackman and Aaron Stanford and Shawn Ashmore and… Oh… Wow. My brain just exploded because of **_**severe**_** hotness…**

**Note: This is my first attempt at an X-Men fanfic. Wish me luck!**

**Also, this first chapter is basically just an introduction to a main (new) character.**

--

_June 15, 1992-Colorado Springs, Colorado_

A 6-month-old little girl sat in the living room of her small Colorado home, building a small block tower. Her face scrunched up in frustration as the blocks in the middle of the tall tower began to lean one way and the top half of the tower separated from the bottom, resulting in all of the blocks to land in small pile on the floor. She scrunched her brows together, and slowly, one by one, without her having to touch them, the blocks began to restack themselves. The girl giggled and clapped her little hands together before something else caught her attention. She maneuvered her legs so that she was on all fours and began to crawl towards the doorway. She sat in the front hall, legs crossed and staring intently at the front door, until a few minutes later, the door opened and a man walked in. Her face lit up as soon as she saw him and she immediately put her arms up, an indication to the man that she wanted to be held.

"Hey there, Sweetie." The man chuckled as he hung his jacket up into the hall closet. "Have you been a good girl today?" He knelt down so that their faces were level, gently put his hands under her arms and hoisted her up into the air. "Lets go check on your Mommy, okay?"

She smiled and the two made their way into the kitchen.

--

_October 22, 1998-Colorado Springs, Colorado_

"You hold the stone like this, Sweetie." Evan Winters showed the seven-year-old-girl the small flat and smooth stone in between his fingers. "And you throw it like this," He drew his arm back, kept his wrist level as he threw the stone towards the lake in front of them. The two watched as it hit the water at the right angle, causing it to skip and create ripples every time it touched back down. Evan turned to the girl and presented her with a small flat stone. "Here, you try."

She slowly took the stone from his outstretched palm and held it like he had a moment before. She brought her own arm back and released the stone from her fingers. The two watched as the stone hit the water once, twice, three times, four times. The man raised his eyebrows as he watched the stone skip out of sight towards the horizon. The man chuckled slightly, put his hand on the girl's shoulders, and together they watched the ripples fade.

--

_July 26, 2002-Albuquerque, New Mexico_

"Your mom and step-dad have been looking for you." The police officer told the 11-year-old runaway.

"I don't care!" She cried tearfully as she quickened her pace. The patrol car's pace increased as well, fast enough to keep up, but slow enough not to hurt the girl.

"You don't miss your parents?" The officer pried and the girl shook her head.

"I hate them!"

"Surely you don't mean that."

The girl came to a complete stop. If only they could understand. Slowly, she turned around and glared at the car.

The officer tried again. "Let us take you home."

The girls shoulder's sagged, but she nodded and the police man began to reach for the door handle. He'd just wrapped his fingers around it when the locks on the door engaged, holding the door in place.

"What the…" The officer pulled up on the lock and pulled on the door handle, only for the process to repeat. Outside on the sidewalk, the girl giggled.

"There something wrong with the door?" The officer in the passenger seat asked.

"Yeah, I can't get it open." He tried to open it again, and once again, the doors locked.

"Roll down your window and open it from the outside." The partner offered and the driver nodded. He pushed the window's button, but nothing happened.

"Great. Now the windows aren't working either." The police officer was getting frustrated fast.

"Dispatch," The driver turned to the passenger and saw that he was on the radio. "We need assistance at 25th and Brooks."

"_What's your 20?"_

The two police men glanced at each other. "Patrol car's malfunctioning." They heard a snort of laughter on the other end before dispatch replied telling them that assistance would be arriving momentarily. A few minutes later, another car pulled up to the scene.

The little girl sighed. She'd had her fun, now it was time to face the music.

--

_August 2, 2009-Westchester County, New York_

She'd finally made it. After years of going from boarding school to boarding school, she'd finally gotten up the courage to leave. Sure, she was already 17 and only had two more years to complete of school, but it didn't matter. Boarding schools were hell and she couldn't stand them. She had heard about a school that she was actually interested in. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. There was something about the name that for some reason calmed her. Unexplainable, sure, but true.

She fiddled with the sleeve of her jacket. The taxi that she had taken had been driving for hours and she really wanted to stretch her legs. She had just opened her mouth to say so when a sign caught her eye. She smiled, relieved that her journey had come to an end. She took in the scenery as the taxi drove closer to the school. The first thing that she noticed was the children. There were kids running around on the grass playing and other older kids were sitting and talking. The car halted to a stop and the driver quickly got out to retrieve her suitcase from the trunk. Slowly, she grasped the door's handle, pulling it and pushing the door open. She stepped out into the sunny August air. The first thing that she heard was laughter and she smiled.

_I think I'll fit right in here._

_--_

**A/N: Reviews are love, encouragement and reminders to write. Please love me, encourage me and remind me. This story will be dedicated to my inspirational (and helpful) friend Kayla. =)**


	2. Arrival

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did, however, marry John Allerdyce at epic_marriage on LiveJournal! **

**Note: Since we do not learn Rogue's full name in the movies, I am using the name I came across on The X-Project Wiki.**

--

Marie D'Ancanto, Bobby Drake and John Allerdyce were sitting on a bench in the large courtyard.

"What's this girl like anyway?" John asked as he eyed the front gate impatiently.

Marie rolled her eyes and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've already told you two everything that I know about her." She noticed John perk up and turned her attention towards the main gate. "You'll like her. Trust me." She stood up off of the bench and began to walk towards the car. The two men watched as the car stopped and the driver hopped out and made his way to the trunk. The door behind the driver opened and a girl stepped out.

She was medium height, wearing an old pair of jeans and a vintage t-shirt, a simple grey sweatshirt was wrapped around her waist. She had blonde hair, which was pulled back into a low ponytail. The girl was able to glance around the courtyard for a moment before she was pulled into a hug. John noticed that she stood stunned for a moment before wrapping her arms around Marie as well.

The driver, having gotten her suitcase out of the trunk, came up and tapped the girl on the shoulder. They exchanged words, and the girl reached into her pocket, pulled out an object and handed it to the driver. He nodded, got back into his cab and drove off.

The girl grabbed her bag, and she and Marie began to walk back over towards the two men.

"You guys, this is Sophia Lockhart." Marie introduced. "Sophia, this is Bobby Drake and John Allerdyce."

Sophia smiled and waved slightly. "Hi."

"It's nice to finally put a face and a name to Rogue's mystery friend." Bobby said smiling and Sophia laughed slightly.

"Same here. She's told me about you guys."

"All good I hope." Bobby said and Rogue laughed.

Sophia giggled. "Pretty much."

"So how was your trip?" Rogue asked, changing the subject quickly on purpose, leaving Bobby to think that she _had_ told Sophia bad things about him.

Sophia sighed heavily. "Too long. I'm exhausted, dirty and hungry. All I want to do is take a _long_ hot shower and crawl into bed."

Rogue smiled. "As soon as you meet with Miss Munroe, I'm sure you'll be able to do that." Sophia let out a relieved sigh. "I'm gonna go show Sophia around. Catch up with you guys at dinner?" Bobby smiled and nodded.

Rogue turned back to Sophia. "Come on."

John and Bobby watched as Rogue led her friend into the mansion. After they had disappeared behind the large wooden doors, Bobby spoke.

"She seems nice." John nodded, his eyes still on the door. Bobby turned to him, a puzzled look on his face.

"You alright? You didn't say a word."

John quickly snapped himself out of his trancelike state and shrugged. "Just didn't feel like talking."

--

"Ms. Munroe?" Rogue knocked on the headmaster's open door and peered around the corner. Storm looked up from the desk and smiled.

"Rogue, what can I help you with."

Rogue smiled and took a step into the room, Sophia close behind her. "I was wondering if we had any available beds."

Storm nodded. "I think so. Who's this?"

"This is my friend Sophia," Rogue introduced, "Sophia, this is Ms. Munroe."

Sophia made her way in front of the desk and put her hand out for Storm to shake. "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you." Storm replied. "So," she began as she sat back down in her chair, "you're interested in attending our school?" Sophia nodded and Storm smiled again. "Rogue, why don't you go put some sheets on the spare bed in your room." Rogue grinned and made her way out of the headmistress's office.

--

Sophia reluctantly stepped out from under the warm spray. She grabbed the towel off of the towel bar and wrapped it around her. She made her way to the sink and wiped the steam off the mirror. She looked at her appearance and smiled. She was finally here. She grabbed her brush off of the sink and began to run it through her hair. When she had gotten all the tangles out, she pulled it back into a bun. She made her way back into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, sat down on her bed and somehow ended up falling asleep.

--

Rogue timidly woke Sophia up a few hours later. "Sophia?" She whispered as she shook her shoulder a bit harder. "Sophia!"

Sophia's eyes opened slowly and she lay on the bed, looking up at her friend.

"What?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Come on." Rogue motioned for Sophia to follow her. Sophia slowly got off the bed and stretched. She was still tired, but hunger was the number one priority at the moment. She followed her friend down the hallway of the girls' dormitories. They made their way down the stairs and through the doorway, stepping out into the warm evening air. Right away Sophia spotted Bobby and John leaning up against a small fence that was separating the sidewalk from the grass.

"You ready to go?" Bobby asked when he saw the two girls.

"Yup." Rogue answered and she moved to stand by him leaving John next to Sophia.

"Where are we going?" She hissed at John. He shrugged his shoulders.

"They don't exactly keep me in the loop." Sophia smiled slightly at this comment. The four students hopped the small fence and cut through the grass until the reached the front of the school. They then turned down the path that lead to the garages and after Bobby and John had argued for several minutes about which car to take, they were driving down Graymalkin Lane.

--

"So, what's your power?" John asked casually as he took a bite of his burger.

Rogue and Bobby, well, mostly Rogue, had surprised Sophia by treating her to fast food. She had been pleasantly surprised seeing that it had been several years since she had eaten out.

Sophia took a sip of her soda and raised her eyebrows. "You first, John boy."

John smiled slightly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his lighter.

"John…" Bobby said, his tone laced with warning.

"Would you relax! It's not like I'm going light this place up." He flipped it open and studied the flame intently. He aimed his finger at his napkin and the next thing the four knew, a hole was burning in the middle of it. Sophia smiled, clearly impressed.

"Hey," Bobby said, turning the attention on himself. He took his hand and held it above the napkin. A second later, the flames were frozen into a small ball of ice. Sophia glanced at Rogue, who rolled her eyes at the boys.

"Your turn." John said, but Sophia shook her head and stood up.

"I'll be right back." She turned on her heel and headed towards the direction of the bathrooms.

"I always got the feeling that she was afraid of her power." Rogue said after the three watched the door to the women's bathroom close.

"How?" Bobby asked, both men curious as to what Rogue had to say.

"Whenever it was brought up in a conversation, she always changed the subject. I asked her a few times, but she never gave me a straight answer."

"You could touch her, see what powers you get." John suggested, but Rogue gave him a look.

"I'm not going to hurt my friend just because I'm curious." She scolded, slightly shocked that he had even suggested that idea.

"I was kidding!" John exclaimed, popping a french-fry into his mouth and rolling his eyes. "Always so serious!"

--

**Review! It'll be my wedding gift. Correction. **_**Our**_** wedding gift. Hehe.**


	3. First Day

**Disclaimer: I only own the X-Men DVD's. I don't own any of the characters ('cept for Sophia) and I don't own the rights or the idea of the creation of X-Men. BUT, I am now the proud owner of an X-Men X-Box game and a wicked X-Men t-shirt. *Nods and grins* Yeah.**

--

The weeks passed quickly and soon it was a school night. Students returned from their summer vacations and once again the mansion was packed to its normal carrying capacity. The class schedules had been passed out earlier that day, and Rogue, Bobby, John and Sophia were sitting in the girl's room comparing their schedules.

"I've got art, mechanics, math, English, political science, chemistry, combat and history." John read off, his eyebrows raised.

"I have history, political science, art, English, mechanics, chemistry, combat and math." She looked over at John. "Looks like we have several classes in common." He nodded, secretly pleased.

In the past few weeks, a secret mutual attraction had formed between Sophia and John. Neither knew the other felt it and neither told anyone about it. Sophia had caught John looking at her, but didn't look much into it. She was the new girl and people had been giving her looks because of that.

"Math, political science, art, chemistry, history, combat, English and mechanics." Rogue read off and glanced at Bobby.

"History, English, math, art, chemistry, political science, combat and mechanics."

"Looks like we have several classes in common." Sophia said absent mindedly as she read something else off her piece of paper.

--

Next morning, Sophia was nervous, but at the same time, excited. She was finally in a place where she would be considered normal. Or somewhat normal, she didn't know how many people had the same power that she did. She'd admit that she was scared. Rogue had assured her that she had nothing to worry about, but Sophia couldn't help but be a little nervous. She was the new girl and other than her small group of three friends, she knew no one. She took a deep breath, slipped into her sneakers and made her way out into the hallway.

--

Bobby was in her first class, history, so they sat together. Amara Aquilla, also known as Magna, taught history. Her next class was political science, and that was taught by Storm. Rogue and Sophia sat together in the back of the class and quickly discovered that they had similar views on the subject. Art was next, she and Rogue walked to class together and took the table that was near the back of the room. Sophia found it amusing that Colossus, being as big of a guy that he was, taught art, but then again, this school wasn't exactly the norm. She and John met up outside the English classroom, and as soon as she walked into the classroom, Nightcrawler appeared in a puff of blue smoke, startling most of the class. After English, the three met up for lunch.

"How are your classes so far?" Bobby asked.

"Awesome. This is easily the best school that I've ever been to."

"Where'd you go to school before?" John asked. Sophia hadn't revealed much of her past in the last few weeks. John thought that it was odd, but didn't push. He wasn't that fond of his own past either.

Sophia froze slightly before opening her mouth and speaking. "I was at an all girls boarding school before here. I hated it. All the girls were bitches and the teachers were _really_ strict."

"Fun." John noted sarcastically and Sophia nodded in agreement.

"But I'm out now, and this place is great."

--

After lunch, Sophia made her way to her first solo class. Mechanics/Flight was taught by Archangel, and Sophia could quickly pick up on the fact that most of the girls in the class were swooning over Warren Worthington the third. She grinned and set down at a desk near the door. She liked to sit in the back. You couldn't receive dirty looks from other students if you sat in the back. After class let out, she quickly made her way next door and into chemistry.

"Once everyone arrives, choose a partner. This partner will serve as your lab partner until the end of the year, so choose carefully." Wolfsbane, also known as Rahne Sinclair, told the class. Sophia looked around as everyone divided into groups of two, no one even sending a glance her way. She let out a sigh and turned around when she saw John in the same situation. She slowly made her way over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Looks like it's you and me, John boy." He whipped around, made eye contact, nodded slightly and then they both made their way over to a table.

"Everyone paired up?" Wolfsbane asked and she glanced around the room. "Good. Now if you would put on some safety goggles, we can begin." She waited for a minute while everyone in the room put on glasses.

"Bobby Drake was nice enough to help us out with this project. He provided us the ice that we need to complete this experiment." Wolfsbane announced before turning her full attention to the mechanism to her desk. "Set your work station up so that it looks like this." She placed the glass boiling flask on a metal ring. "And fill it half full with water. You should have a pitcher on your work station." She waited while everyone did so. "Now heat the flask with the Bunsen burner until it boils and steams."

Sophia reached for the burner but John grabbed her wrist. When she looked over at him, he smirked. "We don't need a burner." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter.

Sophia laughed slightly. "Are you allowed to do that?"

John shrugged. "No one said I couldn't." He flipped the lighter open, created a small ball of fire and sent it under the glass flask, all the while watching Wolfsbane for a potential negative reaction.

Wolfsbane looked up and the two locked eyes. The teacher scowled slightly but nodded, indicating that it was fine.

John quickly reached the required temperature, but continued to heat the flask to allow the other students time to get there as well. When everyone else had reached a constant boil, Wolfsbane spoke again.

"Everyone who used the Bunsen burner," She sent a pointed look at John, "remove the burner and put the rubber stopper in the top of the flask. Also, tape the stopper to the neck of the glass. If the stopper falls out, you could get burned." She waited while everyone did so before speaking again. "Now turn the flask upside down in the ring. The flask will be hot, so do it fast, but do _not_ drop it." There were chuckles throughout the class while everyone turned the glass upside-down in the ring. Wolfsbane went around the room handing out little bags of ice to each station. "Place this bag on top of the flask and write your observations in your notebook. I want each stations observations on my desk by the end of the class!"

--

Next class, the four friends met up in combat where Wolverine was the teacher. The class was in the basement in one of the simulation rooms, one of the only rooms big enough and it was the only room Storm, the new headmaster, allowed Logan to smoke in.

"Today," Logan began, his cigar still in his mouth, "we are going to learn about pressure points. Now because Storm doesn't want any casualties, you are to use as little pressure as possible. Clear?" Everyone in class nodded. "Good. Now pair up into groups of two."

John turned to Sophia after everyone else was paired up. "You and me?" Sophia smirked slightly and nodded.

"Who would like to be demonstrated on?" Logan asked, he scanned the room for raised hands, but found none. He sighed and spoke again. "Who would like to demonstrate on me?" He glanced around again and saw that there were still no hands in the air. "Someone's gotta volunteer."

Sophia began to raise her hand but John grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" He whispered.

"Volunteering." She whispered back, stating the obvious.

"Why?"

"Because we're here to learn!"

John appeared to have an internal debate for a second before releasing his hold on her arm. "It's your funeral." Sophia rolled her eyes and put her hand up in the air. Logan quickly noticed and nodded in approval.

"Looks like the new girl has guts." He quickly crossed the room and stood in front of her. "First on the list, the neck." He put his hand on the back of Sophia's neck and gently pinched a section of skin with his thumb, pointer and middle fingers. "Okay." He took a step back and put his hands down at his side. "You try."

With a determined look on her face, Sophia raised her arm and put her hand on the back of Logan's neck. She pinched the area of skin that he had pinched on her, and felt a wave of satisfaction when his face distorted into a painful grimace. After a minute, she released her grip and brought her hands back to her sides.

Logan smirked slightly as he cracked his neck. "Very good." Sophia grinned proudly before Logan turned on his heel and headed back to the front of the classroom. "Now, practice on each other, but don't paralyze your partner."

--

After class ended, four very sore students made their way out of the classroom.

"Last class for the day!" John cried, a grin on his face. Sophia chuckled and held her hand up for a highfive which John gladly gave her.

"Don't celebrate yet," Bobby began, "the teachers are normally just as tired as the students are."

"And just as cranky." Rogue added. "We'll see you two later."

--

Math always brought back bad memories for Sophia. She hated the subject. She hated the teachers. But Emma Frost was different. She had actually found a way to make math enjoyable. Whether it was just an act for the first day of school, Sophia didn't know, but as soon as class began, she felt relaxed. When class ended, she was slightly disappointed, but after she reminded herself that she'd be back the next day, she was back to normal.

After dropping her books off in her room, she made her way downstairs and out into the bright sunlight. She made her way around the basketball court and the pool and began to approach a tree that was on the banks of Breakstone Lake, that was shading her friends. She sat down next to Bobby and sighed, looking over the dark blue water.

"How was your first day?" Rogue asked curiously as she studied her friends face intently.

John looked up from his place on the ground where he was building a small fire out of sticks, leaves and any other flammable thing he could find.

"It was great." She smiled at her friends. "I think this year is going to be awesome."

--

**A/N: Dudes! That was 1,813 words! Almost 9 pages! *Does happy dance* Hehe. I am proud. Please review/comment and tell me what you think! I really do care what you think!**


	4. Problem

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of value. Reviews are love. Please love me!!**

--

It was surprisingly humid and warm for the first week of September. Some of the students had an idea to throw a pool party, so the majority of the students were out back around the pool, but the few students that weren't in the pool were playing basketball in the court.

Rogue and Sophia were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water.

"It's so pretty here." Sophia said as she let her eyes wander around the scenery. "I never thought that New York could be so pretty."

Rogue laughed slightly and nodded her head in agreement. "I know. I couldn't believe it when the Professor told me that I was in New York."

"I always think of cities and Broadway, not countryside and lakes. It's so calm." Sophia added.

The two sat in silence for a moment before both girls felt hands on their backs. Sophia and Rogue screamed as they were pushed into the warm pool water. Somehow, however, Sophia managed to grab her attackers leg as she fell, pulling them into the pool as well. The three let out yells as their heads came up out of the water, and Sophia quickly saw who it was who had pushed her. John. She slapped his arm playfully and scowled at him, causing him to laugh.

"Bobby!" Rogue cried and Sophia and John turned their attention to their, laughing, dry friend.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea!" He defended. Rogue turned to John and splashed him forcefully with water.

"I'm sorry!" John yelled. "It was impossible to pass up! Besides, I didn't push _both_ of you!"

The next thing any of them knew, there was a splash and Bobby's head popped above the surface of the water.

"Hey!" He yelled as he spluttered. "Sophia!"

Rogue and John turned to Sophia, who merely smirked, shrugged and dove under the water again.

--

About half an hour later, the four decided that they were thirsty. Rogue and Bobby decided to continue lounging in the pool, leaving John and Sophia to go on a lemon aid run.

"They're so bossy." John complained as he and Sophia made their way into the mansion.

Sophia mentally agreed but decided to defend her friends. "They're young and in love. They want to spend all their free time together."

"But they could spend time together getting _us_ lemon aid." He replied, rolling his eyes.

Sophia opened her moth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Hey John!" A voice from behind them called. The two friends turned around and were met with the sight of Kitty Pryde.

"Hi Kitty." Sophia greeted and Kitty smiled.

"Hey, Sophia." Kitty turned her attention back to John. "Ms. Lennon says its your turn to put the dishes away."

John nodded. "Alright. I'll do it later." He began to turn around, but Kitty spoke again, causing him to turn back around to face her.

"No John, Ms. Lennon says you have to do it _now_."

John groaned and muttered a very clear 'come on', under his breath.

Kitty bit back a grin. "Sorry John." John and Sophia watched as Kitty turned and walked off down the hall.

"Well that sucks." John groaned and Sophia nodded in agreement.

-

One of the very few rules at Xavier's was that students had to load and unload the dishwasher. Due to the size of the school, each person's turn to unload came scarcely, but it normally came sooner than any said student wanted it to.

-

"You should just do it and get it over with." Sophia advised and John nodded reluctantly.

Sighing, John spoke. "I'm going to go put a shirt on." He said, indicating to his bare chest.

"Okay." Sophia replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Although her secret crush's body wasn't incredibly buff, it wasn't terribly flabby. And seeing that she was a teenaged girl, she enjoyed the view.

John turned and began to head back down the hall in the direction that he and Sophia had just come from. Sophia continued in the direction that the two were headed for before Kitty had stopped them. Once she reached the kitchen, she went to the cabinet and got for glasses out and carried them to the counter. She turned to the refrigerator, got the lemon aid out and poured a generous amount into each glass. After she had put the pitcher back in the fridge, she sat down on one of the barstools and waited for John to return.

--

Grumbling under his breath, John entered his and Bobby's room and made his way to his dresser. Not only did he have to unload the enormous dishwasher, but he had to lose some of his ogling time. It was typical male, sure, but he was a boy. A teenaged boy at that. He'd admit it. He had raging hormones. And seeing that Xavier's was a G rated campus, seeing his 'crush' in a bikini top with shorts was the closest to anything that John Allerdyce would ever get. With more force than necessary, he pulled open one of the drawers of his dresser and grabbed the first t-shirt he saw.

--

She was restless. Bored. It was crazy how fast she could get bored. Insane, really. She flicked one of the glasses of lemon aid and watched intently as the cold yellow liquid shook in its glass. She sighed dramatically before an idea struck her. She glanced around the kitchen, making sure no one was there, before turning her complete attention to the door of the dishwasher.

--

John turned in the doorway of the kitchen and sent an apologetic grin at Sophia. "Sorry." He mumbled as he made his way further into the kitchen.

"Don't be. I kept myself entertained."

John smirked as he yanked open the dishwasher, but as quickly as it had come, the smirk disappeared. "What the…" He stepped back and allowed Sophia to see the inside of the dishwasher, which was completely empty.

Sophia giggled softly as she watched John yank open cabinets and drawers, checking if everything was put away.

"Yeah, I was a little bored waiting for you."

John whipped around and gave her a strange look. "So you put everything away for me?" She shrugged. "It takes forever to unload this thing! I was only gone for five minutes!"

Sophia said nothing, but took a sip out of her glass of lemon aid and stared at John innocently.

--

_Meanwhile…_

A black car approached the school and pulled into the courtyard. It parked, and two men in black suits got out. They made their way up to the door and knocked, but after receiving no answer, opened the door and went in. After wandering around inside for a while, they found a door with a nameplate that said 'Headmaster'. The two men shared a glance before knocking on the door. They heard a faint 'come in', so the first man twisted the doorknob, pushed open the door and then both men stepped into the room.

--

Ororo Munroe looked up from her place behind her desk and was met with the sight of two men in expensive looking suits.

"Can I help you?" She asked, curious as to what they were doing at her school.

"We're looking for a James Howlett." The first man said.

Storm wrapped her brain around the name, mentally scanning through her internal database of students and staff. "I'm sorry. I do no believe that there is anyone by that name here."  
The second man reached into his breast pocket and pulled out, what looked to be, a piece of paper. He crossed the room in a matter of seconds and placed the piece of paper on the desk for Storm to see.

Storm looked down at the paper, which was actually a picture, and quickly recognized the person on it. "Logan." She whispered.

"So you _do_ know him." The second stated, and Storm nodded. "Just," She cleared her throat, "just give me a minute. Let me call him." She picked up the phone, pressed a button on the cradle, and spoke. "Logan, this is," she hesitated for a minute, "Ororo. You are needed in my office immediately." She set the phone back down on its cradle, crossed her hands and set them on her desk and studied the two men cautiously. The three people in the office stared at each other uneasily for a few minutes longer before the doors opened and Logan sauntered in. He looked the two men up and down before speaking.

"What's going on here, _Ororo_?"

Storm shrugged. "I'm not sure. They showed up and asked for you."

"Agents Kimball and Samburg." The first man, Agent Kimball, said as he motioned to the man behind him.

Storm and Logan shared a look before the second man, Agent Samburg, spoke.

"You are James Howlett, son of John and Elizabeth Howlett, native of Alberta, Canada?"

Wolverine nodded slightly. "So I've been told." He paused. "What agency are you with, agents?"

"We're with the immigration service." Samburg answered. "We're here to inform you that you are being deported."

There was an awkward silence in the room for a moment before Storm finally spoke.

"Deported? You can't be serious!"

"It has come to our attention that Mr. Howlett has been in the country illegally. I am sorry." Kimball turned to Logan. "You have thirty days to return to your homeland." With that final note said, Kimball and Samburg turned on their heels and left.

Logan stood there in shock, his mouth open slightly as he processed what had just been told to him. After swallowing once, he managed to get out, "Well, _shit_."

"Yeah." Storm whispered, nodding slightly in agreement. She bit her lip as an idea formed in her head. "You know," She hesitated for a second before gathering the courage to finish her thought. "There _may _be a way around this."

He turned to face her, eyebrows raised. "I'm listening."

Storm's discomfort was clearly obvious as she sought out a way to tell Logan her plan. She sighed, deciding that they best way to break it was do cut right to the chase. She took one more breath before saying the one word that Logan wasn't expecting. "Marriage."

--

**A/N: Please note that I had this idea before all the commercials for The Proposal aired. It was original. I swear. Please don't sue me.**


	5. An Unlikely Ally

**Disclaimer: Writers block is a problem. Reviews encourage me and, for some unknown reason, prevent writers block. Help me defeat writers block!**

* * *

"Marriage." Logan repeated, the word foreign to his ears. He had never considered marriage before. Ever. Storm nodded. "Who would I marry? _You_?"

She nodded again and smirked. "Unless you can find anyone else who'd want to marry you." Logan scoffed, but nodded reluctantly.

"Fine." He stuck his thumbs into the loops of his jeans. "So, when's the date?"

Storm gave Logan a look that said 'don't' and Logan turned, a smirk on his face, and made his way out of the office.

--

Theresa Cassidy, aka Siryn, was known for her mouth. She liked gossip and talking as much as the next teenaged girl, so when she heard that two of her teachers were getting married, she naturally spread the word. First on her list was Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, aka Colossus's little sister. Illyana then told Kitty Pryde, and Kitty told her boyfriend, Jimmy, aka Leech, and by dinner everyone had heard.

--

"Do you think its true?" Bobby asked later at dinner and John and Sophia turned their attention to Rogue.

She shook her head. "I dunno. I would have known if they were dating," She put a bite of food into her mouth and continued, "but I will ask Logan the next time I see him."

--

She looked up at the big wooden doors, considering her options one last time. She had no home, she had no master, she had no one to take her in. Senator Kelly had been accepted here, and he was just as much as an enemy as she was. She took a deep breath before grabbing the handle and stepping into the foyer. It was exactly how she remembered it to be, and she was oddly relieved to find that it was empty. It was cowardly. She found it extremely ironic, but the thought of running into some child scared her. She didn't want to be judged. Not now. But then again, all the children here were pretty accepting. She thought back to some of the conversations that she had overheard when she had been here a few years previous. She was so lost in thought, it took her a few seconds to realize that she was in the presence of someone else.

"What are you doing here?" Storm demanded, catching the other woman completely off guard.

Her yellow eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak when another familiar figure appeared.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Logan growled, extending his claws as he did.

She raised her hands up into the air in a sign of innocence. "I didn't come here to fight."

"Good." Storm said, her face emotionless and her voice monotonous.

"I repeat," Logan began again, "_what _the_ hell _are you doing here?" He began to move towards her in a 'meant to be threatening way', but she stayed where she was.

Sighing dramatically, she spoke. "I've come to join your forces."

There was a moment of silence before Storm spoke. "Why?"

"I was betrayed. I made the ultimate sacrifice to save my teacher and instead of getting praised, I got left behind."

"So now that you've 'realized the error of your ways', you want to join the X-Men?" Logan asked skeptically.

The woman raised her eyebrows and turned her head slightly, indicating that that, indeed, was her plan.

The two adults turned to face Storm who was clearly thinking hard. "Well, The Professor would never want us to turn our backs on a fellow mutant. Especially when that mutant was in a time of need." She took a breath. "I am not saying 'yes', but I am also not saying 'no'."

"Storm," Logan began but Storm cut him off.

"You are welcome to stay the night." Storm made to turn but quickly stopped and turned back to the other woman. "But we _will_ be watching, so don't do anything stupid, Mystique."

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I know that that's short, but I have my reasons. I feel bad for the shortness, but if everything goes as planned (and more) the next chapter should have a lot of explanations. HOPEFULLY. And, as I stated before, REVIEWS DO HELP!**


	6. Bonding

**A/N: I own nothing that anyone else would want. Hmm… Wait… I do own some new sparkly pens. I wrote this chapter with them. : )**

--

The next day the rumor that Raven Darkholm, aka Mystique, was staying in the X-Mansion had been heard by each member of the staff and by each student. It was, however, still only a rumor. Neither Storm nor Logan had confirmed nor denied when they had been asked several times each, by students.

-

"It's quite the soap opera this year." John commented as he and Sophia strolled around the school's property.

Sophia chuckled. "You mean it isn't usually this…" She paused as she carefully searched for the right word, "exciting?"

John shook his head. "I was gone for a year, but I _do_ remember that it was _slightly _more relaxed."

Sophia giggled but nodded. "Good to know."

The two walked in a comfortable silence for a few moments longer before Sophia spoke again.

Hesitantly, she asked the question that had been bugging her almost since school had started. "Why exactly were you gone for a year?"

John stopped walking and ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair. Although he had been expecting this question from her, the timing had caught him off guard. He thought for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain his past actions.

"Have you heard anything?" He asked hesitantly, deciding to start his story by denying or confirming any rumors that Sophia had already heard.

"I've heard talk." Sophia replied nodding. "But I want to hear _your_ side of the story."

He smiled a small appreciative smile. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She smiled at him. "There's two sides to every story, and I only know half."

John took a deep breath and spoke, beginning to walk again. "You know who Magneto is, right?"

Sophia nodded. "Yeah. I saw his threat on the news last year." John nodded and continued.

"For awhile, I was his…his right-hand man." He glanced over at Sophia, searching her face for any sign of emotion. Finding none, he continued his story again. "I regret going with him, but at the same time I'm glad I did." Sophia caught John's eyes and gave him a curious look. "It sounds cliché, but because of the time I spent with him, I realized how wrong the things he was doing were."

Sophia nodded. "That makes sense."

The two came upon a bench and sat down.

"You know the woman who is supposedly staying here now?"

"Mystique?"

John nodded too. "Yeah. She used to work with Magneto too."

"You knew her?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah." John replied, swallowing hard. "She stepped in front of a syringe full of the cure to save him." He paused at glanced at his friend, who's eyes encouraged him to go on. "She saved his life, and he just left her there. Turned his back on her like she meant _nothing_." He was clenching his fists in anger and without even thinking, Sophia placed her hand on top of his tightly closed fist. "I just didn't think he could do that. Especially to her." He looked up and Sophia was surprised at how sad his eyes were.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her eyes going sympathetic.

John grimaced. "Then he had me battle Bobby. I actually kind of looked forward to that. I know that it's _bad_, I mean, the guy's the best friend I have here, but at the time, I hated him." He glanced up at her before answering her unasked question. "He had a family that actually gave a damn about him." He didn't notice Sophia's gaze shift down to the ground. "Bobby ended up knocking me out cold and when I came to, I found that he had carried me back to the X-Jet." John shook his head slightly. "He saved my life even though I had just tried to kill him."

Sophia smiled at him, but then quickly became aware of the fact that her hand was still on his. Unfortunately, so did John. She quickly pulled her hand back and the two sat in a slightly awkward silence until she spoke a few minutes later.

"When I was nine, my mom married a guy named Steve." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I hate him. He's a real piece of work. You know, a chauvinist." She glanced over at her friend, who had taken an interest in her tale. "You know what's ironic?" She didn't wait for an answer. "The guy is the owner of a brothel. Yeah, that's right. My mom's a whore." She ran her fingers through her hair. "So much of a whore, in fact, that she doesn't know who my father is." She chuckled darkly. "Anyway, back to Steve. The first few weeks after her married my mom, he completely ignored me. At the one time that I really wanted attention." Her eyes glazed over as she recalled some not so pleasant childhood memories. After a moment, she mentally shook herself back. "I ran away from home when I was eleven, you know."

"Yeah? Because of him?"

Sophia nodded. "Partly." She glanced around nervously. "My math teacher, Mr. Carlisle, was a… a bad man. He was doing bad things to my best friend. One day, she let it slip to me, and I decided to confront him." She scoffed. "I realize how stupid it is _now_, but at the time it seemed to be a good idea. But when I told him that I knew what he was doing and that I was going to tell, he got _really_ mad. He grabbed me," She put one hand around her neck, showing John how he had grabbed her, "and her pushed me up against the wall. I was crying and begging him to let me go. He was yelling at me and suddenly, it all stopped. I'll never forget the look on his face…"

"What happened?" John asked, dreading the answer.

"I killed him." Came her whispered reply, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I didn't mean to, but somehow the scissors from the desk ended up in his back." She looked back at John and her stomach fell as she saw that his eyebrows were raised. "I've never told that to anyone before." She glanced down at her lap. Moments later, she saw and felt a hand on her knee.

"You're secret's safe with me."

--

**A/N: I'm off to an advanced screening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and most likely won't check my email until tomorrow. Please make my inbox be filled with reviews! : D**


	7. A Botched Attempt

**A/N: So I didn't get to go see Harry Potter. On the ticket in the fine print, it said 'first come, first serve'. We didn't get there in time to get in. :( Also, my brothers got home from summer camp! The quiet was fantastic but now I may finally be able to write again! Double yay!**

**By the way, you can thank my good friend Stephanie for helping me get past my writers block.**

**OH! I WENT AND SAW 'X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE' LAST NIGHT! OMG! T'WAS FEKKIN' AMAZING! *FLAILS***

--

"For every 99 times you looked me in the eye, you looked me in the eye and swore you weren't lying…" Sophia sang into the plastic Rock Band microphone.

It was a rarity. No one claimed the Rock Band equipment, leaving it free for the four friends to take. Perhaps the reason was because tonight was Halloween and most of the students were preparing to go out for a night of trick-or-treating. There was currently a small crowd made up of a variety of creatures, watching them rock out in the living room, with Bobby on drums, John on guitar and Rogue on bass.

"I was so blind, I never saw the signs, I'm getting out tonight and you're not invited."

The song ended and the small group of students that were in the room applauded.

"You guys are actually good!" Violet Garrison, who was dressed in a Robin Hood costume, commented and Cody Thompson nodded in agreement.

"Who would have thunk it!" Violet's head whipped around and she glared at her classmate. Cody opened his mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by a voice in the doorway.

"Hey!" Kitty Pryde said as she peered around the doorway. "Come on! Lets go get our costumes on!"

"Costumes?" Sophia asked as she wound the microphone's cord around the mic.

"For the Halloween party." John answered. "A few miles down the road is a small kid friendly club. They throw a yearly Halloween bash."

"Ah." Sophia nodded and followed Rogue and Kitty to the girls dormitory.

---

_Meanwhile…_

"The girl should be going out with the seniors tonight." Nick Fury supplied.

"Ah yes," Magneto chuckled, "the Halloween dance. Charles started it and its only predictable that the new headmaster keep some, if not _all_ of his traditions alive." He glanced at Wanda Maximoff and Nick Fury. "You will make your move tonight."

Wanda and Nick glanced at each other before nodding to their boss.

---

"How long does it take them to get ready?" John complained as he glanced at the big wooden clock in the hall.

Bobby shrugged and leaned against the side of the staircase. There was a comfortable silence before John spoke again.

"I'm thinking about asking her out."

Bobby quickly turned his attention to his friend, question in his eyes. "Who?"

"Sophia."

Bobby raised his eyebrows slightly. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not? I like her. In fact I _really_ like her."

Bobby sighed and pulled slightly at the collar of his costume, a vampire, before speaking again. "I'd be fine with you dating Sophia. She's the type of girl you need."

"I'm sensing a 'but'…" John whispered under his breath.

"But I don't know what Rogue would…" He was cut off by John.

"Dude, why do you care so much about what she thinks?"

"She's my girlfriend!" Bobby quickly answered.

"I get that, but come _on_!" She's only one person! And, _you_ are the man in the relationship! It's _religion_ in some places that men are the ones whose opinion matters most in the relationship!" John exclaimed.

"But this is America and I was raised to respect women and their opinions." Bobby interjected.

John sighed dramatically and threw his hands up into the air. This was an argument that was going to go nowhere. And of course Bobby had pulled the damn 'I was raised' card. He opened his mouth to retaliate when the two heard voices upstairs. The two turned their attention to the top of the stairs and watched as a vampiress, a ninja and a witch aka Rogue, Sophia and Kitty descended the stairs.

"Finally…" John mumbled and Bobby elbowed him in the ribs slightly. "Hey!" He hissed but quickly turned his scowl into a grin. "Hey! Wow, what do we have here? A mistress of the dark." He smirked at Rogue, "You obviously belong to him," He indicated to Bobby with a tilt of his head. "A wonderful witch. Strange, I thought you were going to go with the kitty again this year, Kitty."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Very cute, John."

"I try." He turned to Sophia. "Now what do we have here? A dominatrix?"

Sophia scoffed. "_No_, I'm a ninja." She indicated to the tight black pants and black tube top.

John nodded slightly. "Nah. I like mine better." This comment earned him a glare from Sophia and a slap on the arm from Kitty.

"Come on," Bobby said, "we should go." The group of five began the short walk to the front of the door, but were stopped by the gruff voice of their combat instructor, telling them to "hold on a minute."

"Logan!" Rogue exclaimed, slightly startled.

Logan nodded in greeting. "Hiya kid."

"Why'd you stop us?" Rogue asked.

"Miss Lockhart," He replied and Sophia looked up. "_You_ are not eighteen."

"So?" John asked and Kitty whispered him an answer somewhat reluctantly.

"_So_, she's not allowed to go out with us tonight."

"That's stupid!" John cried out as he watched Sophia's face fall slightly.

"Is there anyway you could let this slide?" Rogue pleaded but Logan shook his head. "Rules are rules."

"Since when are _you_ a stickler for the _rules_?" A voice from behind Logan asked. The five students peered around their combat instructor and saw that Storm had appeared. Logan raised an eyebrow at her and Storm smirked.

"You four," Storm pointed to Bobby, Rogue, Kitty and John, "go wait outside." She glanced at Sophia, "I will talk to you and make my decision."

Three out of the four students that were instructed to go outside nodded, but the fourth opened his mouth to protest. Sophia noticed John open his mouth and put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Go."

He studied her eyes for a moment and after being assured that she would be fine, nodded his head.

---

It had been twelve minutes since they had seen her. One of them was nervous, one was impatient and two were talking amongst themselves. Finally, just when the nervous one was about to complain for the fourth time, the doors opened and Sophia walked out, a grin on her face.

"Lets go!" She clapped her hands together and began to head in the direction of the garage.

"Wait, you can come?" Bobby asked.

Sophia nodded. "Yup. Miss Munroe decided that since I'm doing well in my classes, she'd allow me to go to the party."

"That's great!" Marie exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Kitty agreed. "But we better get going so that we can find a good place to park. Lets go see if there are any good cars left."

---

It turned out that the other seniors had left one nice car for them, so the five quickly piled in. Bobby drove so Rogue naturally rode shotgun leaving John, Sophia and Kitty, respectively, to sit in the back. After a few minutes of riding in the car and discussing random topics, they arrived at the club. Bobby finally parked the car after driving around the small parking lot several times and the five hopped out. They could hear and feel the music pumping from the small building in front of them and hurried over to it and out of the nippy October air. They quickly made their way over to the door and John opened it, allowing the other people to go ahead inside. They were about knocked off their feet when the door closed behind them. The music was blasting loud enough that the speakers were pumping. Lasers from the ceiling were illuminating the club in reds, greens and blues. There were people dancing on the floor, some they recognized, some they didn't, but above all, everyone appeared to be having a good time.

"I'll see you guys later!" Kitty yelled over the commotion and Bobby nodded as Kitty phased her way through the crowd. Sophia watched her go and made her way over to one of the walls of the club. She slumped against it and surveyed the activity on the floor.

--

_Meanwhile…_

Wanda and Nick pulled up outside the club and put their van into park.

"I don't understand why he sent _us,"_ Nick stated. "he's perfectly capable of a simple kidnapping."

Wanda snorted. "He's old." She glanced sideways at him and watched his expression go from stony to a smirk.

"Where _do_ supervillians go for retirement?"

---

After a minute of surveying the dance floor, Sophia felt a body beside her. She glanced over and saw the profile of John. He was pretending to watch the dancers, but Sophia could sense that he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly, he turned and put his lips right up to her ear.

"Do you want to dance?" This simple question sent shivers down her spine. It could have been from the closeness, or the seriousness of the question. She didn't know and she certainly did not care. She nodded slightly. John grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd of couples. They finally found a spot and John dropped her hand, much to Sophia's disappointment. She began to sway her hips in time with the music and John made several awkward movements that Sophia assumed was him attempting to dance. She stifled a laugh and grabbed his hands putting them on her hips.

"Follow my lead!" She yelled over the music and felt his head nod beside hers.

"_I'm bringing sexy back…"_

Sophia began to sway her hips again and smiled slightly as she felt John relax behind her. She felt him begin to sway his hips slightly and she relaxed against his body. They began to sway their hips faster as the song went on.

"_I'm bringing sexy back…"_

She rubbed her backside up against his front as they continued to dance and felt him groan as she did. She smirked, loving the fact that she was messing with his head and turned around so that she was facing him. His hands, having been on her hips, were dragged across her body as she turned and ended up on her backside.

"_I'm bringing sexy back…"_

His dark eyes stared down into her own dark ones. They were having fun. Pure hormonal teenage lust. The next thing either of them knew, their lips had met. It was electrical. Everyone else in the room disappeared, but the music kept blasting. It was almost magical.

"_You ready?"_

The song ended and the two were eventually aware of the fact that they were making out on the dance floor. Needless to say, it was awkward.

"I'm going to go get something to drink!" Sophia yelled over the music and John nodded, trying to keep his cheeks from turning pink.

---

_Meanwhile…_

Nick glanced at his watch and groaned.

"Would you shut up?" Wanda hissed as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"Gladly! As soon as we get the girl."

"It could be awhile. It's still early."

Nick rolled his eyes. "In that case, can you do what you do and make me on a beach with…"

"No!" Wanda hissed, angered at the thought. "If I have to suffer, you have to suffer."

"It can be enjoyable for you too." Nick half offered, half teased. Wanda sent him a glare and he scowled before turning back towards the van's window.

---

John felt a finger poke his shoulder and turned around, hoping to see Sophia. Kitty's face smiled up at him instead.

"Having a good time?"

John tilted his head to one side and then the other. "Eh."

Kitty laughed. "Well I think we're heading out. Its getting late."

John nodded reluctantly and glanced around the floor. It was somewhat emptier and he could actually see the floor which had colorfully lit squares. His eyes scanned the remaining crowd and his heart leapt when his eyes found Sophia. She was talking with another girl who he recognized from school.

Sophia felt eyes on so she looked up and quickly saw that it was John who had been watching her. She smiled and winked at him causing him to chuckle softly.

Kitty had been surveying the room, looking for Bobby and Rogue. She quickly found them still dancing in the corner of the room and she smiled slightly.

---

_Meanwhile…_

"Why can't we just barge in there and take her?" Nick whined.

Wanda chuckled. "Most of the children have left already. I'm sure they will be out soon."

"Should we get into position?" Nick asked hopefully and Wanda nodded.

"I think that might be a good idea."

---

"That was _so_ much fun!" Sophia breathed as the five began the short walk back to the car.

"It actually was." John agreed and he sent a secretive smile at Sophia, causing her to blush.

"It's too bad Halloween only comes once a year." Rogue sighed.

"True, but you can dress up like a vampire any day!" Sophia replied.

"Yeah, but then people will think I'm crazy!"

"Who cares!" Sophia grinned and Rogue rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the setting changed. It got bright like it was the middle of the day and the nippy October air was replaced with warm air. The parking lot also vanished and was replaced with grass.

"What the…?" Kitty began, but was cut off by a noise behind them. The five whipped around and were startled by the appearance of a smirking man. Another noise behind them caused them to whip around again and this time they were met with the sight of a woman. While they were temporarily distracted by the woman, the man ran forward and grabbed Kitty's arm.

Kitty screamed and attempted to fight back, but was quickly hit over the head.

John lunged towards the man, but quickly froze, apparently affected by some unseen phenomenon.

Bobby and Rogue ran forward next, but also stopped dead in their tracks.

Sophia fearfully glanced around at her frozen friends before running towards the man. Just when she was about to punch him in the face, her step-father appeared. She froze in fear and dropped her fist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Steve growled. "You stupid girl. What do you think you're doing?!"

Sophia swallowed hard and was about to answer when she realized that something was off. She whipped her head towards the woman and the woman stumbled backwards, tripped over her feet and fell to the ground.

After watching John, Rogue and Bobby come out of their trance like state, Sophia turned her attention back to the man. She punched him in the jaw and while his head went back, grabbed his forehead. She pulled it down towards the ground and moved her hand to the back of his neck, pinching the skin hard. The man winced and released his grip on Kitty.

"Help me!" Sophia yelled and John and Bobby darted towards her, grabbing Kitty's unconscious body.

The four quickly made their way to the car and screeched out of the parking lot and out into the Halloween night.

---

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoyed! Longest chapter yet. 13 pages and 2623 total words! Review!**


	8. Unconscious

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

–

"What the hell was that?" Rogue cried as Bobby sped away from the club.

The car was silent for a minute before the others got their voices back.

"I don't know." Bobby whispered and John shook his head indicating that he didn't have any idea either.

Everyone, minus a still unconscious Kitty, was silent in shock for the remainder of the drive to the mansion.

Bobby didn't bother to properly park the car in the garage, instead he parked it in the middle of the entrance courtyard. John and Bobby carried Kitty into the mansion while Rogue held the doors and Sophia ran ahead for the nurse. John, Bobby and Rouge made their way into the living room and gently set Kitty down on the large blue couch.

"Who...What..." John mumbled.

Rogue shook her head. "What's going on?"

"We gotta go to Storm... Or Logan... Somebody..." Bobby rambled.

Sophia ran back into the room just then, closely followed by nurse Annie Ghazikhanian, who had a black medical bag in her hand.

"Oh my." Annie gasped and she immediately began to tend to Kitty's head wound. "What happened?" She asked as she dabbed at the gash with a piece of gauze.

"We were just coming out of the club and a man and a woman attacked us!" John cried.

"No, first the scenery changed. It was pretty. Nice." Sophia remembered. She hesitated before adding, "And I saw my step-dad."

John glanced at her, noticing that she had gone pale. The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I saw Magneto."

Rogue and Bobby looked at each other cautiously before Rogue spoke, her voice wavering slightly when she did. "I saw Cody Robbins."

All eyes turned to Bobby. "My brother." He whispered. All were deep in thought when Storm ran in the room, clad only in her pajamas.

"Oh my god." She breathed. "What happened?"

"We were attacked." Rogue informed her, a realization hitting her suddenly. She glanced at Sophia, who had the same look on her face that Rogue had.

"By someone who knew what, or who, would make us freak out."

"Your step-dad, my former boss, your brother..." He turned to Rogue. "I have no idea who Cody Robbins is, but I have a feeling your last encounter with him wasn't pleasant."

Rogue nodded. "He was the boy that I put into a coma."

The four students looked at each other and then back to Kitty's still form.

Storm nodded and then ran out of the room, returning a few minutes later with Mystique.

"They were attacked," Storm motioned to the four kids who were still deep in thought. "What do you know?" She demanded more than asked.

"What makes you think I know anything?" Mystique asked, her eyes serious.

"You just _happen _to come here and they just _happen_ to get attacked not _that _long after?" Storm hissed, her eyes flashing.

Mystique glared at Storm, but then turned her attention to the kids. "What happened?"

"We were leaving the club and then a man and a woman appeared. It was weird," Bobby explained, "one minute it was dark and cold and the next it was warm and bright."

"Then," John paused, searching for the right words, "people we never thought we'd see again, were there."

"And the man tried to kidnap Kitty." Rogue added.

Mystique's eyes widened slightly. _Wanda._

"Who's Wanda?" Sophia asked, shocking herself at how she got that name, her eyes studying Mystique with extreme focus.

Mystique eyed Sophia oddly, sighed and then spoke. "It sounds like Wanda Maximoff."

"Who's that?" Storm asked, her eyes on Sophia, a look of disbelief on her face.

Mystique looked wary, but answered anyway. "She's an old friend of Magneto's. She's a reality warper."

Rogue nodded. "That makes sense."

"What about the man?" John asked.

Mystique shook her head. "It could be Nick Fury. He's a former CIA agent and is one bad son of a bitch."

"Why'd they attack Kitty?" Bobby asked and Mystique shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't been in contact with Magneto since I got my dose of the cure." Storm looked skeptically at her, prompting Mystique to add, "I swear."

"She's telling the truth." Sophia supplied hesitantly and Storm pursed her lips.

"Fine. I believe you." She ran a hand through her messy hair. "But I'm still curious as to why Magneto tried kidnap Kitty." She sighed and turned her attention to Bobby and John. "Take Kitty down to the infirmary, she'll stay there tonight."

Annie smiled and gathered her materials while John and Bobby grabbed Kitty's arms and legs.

"You," Storm pointed to Sophia and Rogue, "go ahead and head to bed. There's nothing else we can do right now except get some rest."

Sophia nodded and left the living room, Rogue right behind her. Once they were out in the hall, Sophia stopped.

"You go ahead. I'm going to get some water. I'll be right there." Rogue nodded and made her way down the hallway and out of sight.

Sophia waited in the kitchen until she heard footsteps in the hall. She waited until she saw Bobby and John pass the kitchen door before coming out behind them.

"Hey." She said, motioning for John to come back towards her.

"I'll meet you up there." John whispered to Bobby and Bobby smirked slightly.

"Night, Bobby."

"Night, Sophia." Bobby called over his shoulder as he bounded up the stairs.

"What's up?" John asked as he came to stand in front of his friend.

Sophia shifted her weight from one foot to the other and let out a silent breath. "Are you okay?"

John grinned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He asked, mocking her slightly.

She hit his arm and he smiled. "I'm a little shaken up, but yeah, I'm alright."

John turned towards the kitchen and made his way through the door. "Come." He ordered and Sophia curiously followed. She watched as he made his way to the cupboard and got out a package of cookies. "You need some sugar in you." _You might be going into shock._

The corners of her mouth twitched up. "I'm fine. I'm not going into shock."

He froze and slowly turned around. "I didn't say anything about shock."

_Oops._ She thought, her face contorting to look like that of a guilty child's. "You didn't?" She asked hopefully and John shook his head.

"That's twice tonight." He said to himself and Sophia quickly crossed the room, taking the package of cookies from his hands.

"Twice what?" She asked, deciding to play dumb.

"That you've read someone's mind."

"Oh?" She bit into one of the chocolate chip cookies.

"Don't play dumb." John scolded and she blushed.

_She's cute when she blushes._

"Aw, thanks." She smirked.

John's eyes widened. And Sophia giggled.

"You're cute when you get freaked out."

John's eyes narrowed. "You read minds, don't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

She nodded and John scrunched his face up in a 'why didn't I see that' kind of way.

"Sorry, John-boy." Sophia said with a smirk and John shook his head, grinning.

The two ate and made light chatter before deciding to turn in for the night.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." John said and Sophia nodded.

"Tomorrow." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek gently. "Good night."

–

**A/N: I hope it flowed smooth enough for you guys to keep up. It's 8 in the morning and I haven't slept yet today... Please review! Where do you think this is going? Why do you think Magneto needs Kitty? Do you think I'll let him get her? 'Till next time! : )**


	9. Questions

Bobby, John, Rogue and Sophia slept in the next day, and Storm allowed them to miss some of their classes. Word traveled fast of the attack, and Kitty already had a large collection of get well cards. Now she only had to regain consciousness.

John and Sophia met up in fourth quarter, English, but were barely able to focus on their German professor, who was teaching the class about pronouns. Their minds were spinning, trying to come up with reasons Magneto would need Kitty. Neither could come up with any.

When Nightcrawler dismissed the class, John and Sophia were the first ones out. Bobby and Rogue were spending their lunch in the infirmary with Kitty, and after taking a quick peek into the room and finding it packed, John and Sophia decided to eat their lunch outside. It was slightly nippy, but John was wearing his favorite sweatshirt and Sophia was clad in a long sleeved, ivory v-neck t-shirt with a hood.

"It's gotta be something well guarded." Sophia thought aloud as she munched on a carrot stick.

"Why?"

She looked at John like he was stupid. "_Because_, Kitty can walk through walls. If it wasn't well guarded Magneto could just get it himself."

John thought for a moment. "_Or_, maybe Magneto's taking Kitty to make us _think_ that he needs her for her power."

Sophia nodded and raised her eyebrows in shock. "Nice."

John smirked and watched as the wind blew stray hairs across Sophia's face. He could see her mouth moving, so he forced himself to pay attention.

"I don't mean to be selfish, but why didn't he try to take _me_?"

"I dunno." John said, thankful that Magneto didn't attempt to kidnap his girl. "Maybe he thinks you're weak."

Sophia chuckled. "I'm probably stronger than him."

"Yeah right. He's class three."

"I'm class..." She mumbled the last bit, realizing what she'd gotten herself into.

"I didn't quite catch that."

She sighed dramatically. "I'm class six. At least."

John was speechless for a minute. "You are _so_ lying."

"No!" Sophia raised her hands up in surrender. "Ms. Munroe had me evaluated when I arrived. She was shocked." Sophia giggled.

"I don't believe you." John cried, shocked that his crush was more powerful than the infamous Jean Grey.

"_You_ don't have to." Sophia glared at him before changing the subject. "When do you think Logan and Storm's wedding is?"

"I don't know." John grumbled. "Can't you _read their minds_ and find the date?"

She sighed. She hadn't expected him to take her being more powerful, lightly. "I don't _read minds_ if I don't have to."

"Why'd you do it last night?"

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm not sure. I do have a theory though."

"Lets hear it."

She glanced at him and noted that his eyes were no longer dark. "I think that everything that happened last night, the passion and the fear, caused my powers to go into overdrive. The only time I lost control like that was when..." She trailed off and he nodded.

"Carlisle."

She nodded as well and began absentmindedly poking at her food.

John waited a minute before taking a big breath. He had planned to ignore Bobby's warnings and ask her out. However, to his dismay, the bell rang before he could get a word out.

She stood up, collected her garbage and swung her book bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you in chemistry."

John nodded weakly and watched as Sophia headed back towards the school. He sighed, frustrated at the course lunch had taken and hurriedly gathered his own garbage.

–

John was lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to ask Sophia out. He could hear Storm talking, but couldn't focus on what was being said. After what seemed like forever, he was aware of movement all around him. He got up out of his chair and followed the crowd out into the hallway and made his way to chemistry. When he got there, he was glad to see Sophia already sitting in her seat. She had her notebook out in front of her and was impatiently tapping her pencil against the top of the black lab table. John smiled and made his way over to his seat.

"Hey."

She turned to look at him and her face broke into a grin. "Hey." Once he had gotten seated, Sophia lent over and whispered in his ear. "We're taking notes today. _Just_ notes."

"And how do you know _that_?" John asked sarcastically.

Sophia rolled her eyes and smirked as she pulled herself away from her partner. She was just about to open her notebook to a new page when she felt eyes on her. She glanced to her left and saw that Violet Garrison was staring at her.

"Hey, Violet."

"Hey." Violet greeted cheerfully, but then her smile fell. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Sophia asked. She had a feeling that this was about the attack last night. She'd been receiving curious looks all day.

"You know..." Violet scooted her chair into the middle of the aisle so that she would be closer to her classmate. "That some guy tried to kidnap Kitty."

"Oh, it's true alright." John said from behind Sophia, not glancing over at Violet. "But he wasn't alone."

"John..." Sophia hissed in warning. She wasn't sure what everyone was supposed to know.

Violet turned her full attention to John.

"There was this creepy mind lady with him. Totally 'warped our reality'."

"How?" Violet asked, intrigued by his tale. Several other students, including Ariella Blum, were engrossed in his tale.

"She changed the scenery." Sophia supplied. "Turned the dark parking lot into a bright field."

"Really?" Ariella asked and John nodded, eyes wide.

"What happened next?" Symon Lipko, aka Hyrtz, asked from the third row.

John and Sophia shared a look. What should the tell their friends?

"The woman trapped us in a trance." Sophia finally said and John calmed slightly.

"But somehow, Sophia managed to break through it and kick the bad guy's ass."

"Language, Mr. Allerdyce, language." Wolfsbane scolded as she entered the classroom.

"Sorry." John said, scowling slightly. Sophia chuckled as she opened her notebook and poised her pen, ready to take notes.

–

The four met up in combat and made their way to their places in the room. Wolverine entered a few minutes later, lit cigar in his mouth, and all the chatter stopped.

"I assume you've all heard about what happened last night to Kitty." Logan said and there was a murmur throughout the room. "Two attackers. One reality warper and one ex-CIA." He turned to John and Sophia. "And you managed to take them both down?" There was a hit of skepticism in his voice, but also a hit of awe.

Sophia's face turned red, but she nodded.

"Impressive." Logan said with a whistle. After a quick nod of approval, he turned around th face the other students. "Why don't you tell us how you did that, Miss Lockhart?"

Sophia glanced down at her feet. "The element of surprise, as well as what you taught us on the first day of school."

"Which was?"

"Pressure point at the back of the neck." She recited, feeling like she was in a boot camp.

"See," Logan begain, "if she was able to take down a CIA agent with pressure point, imagine what you could do to ordinary man." He turned back to Sophia. "Very nice, Miss Lockhart."

She grinned sheepishly and turned her attention back to her feet.

–

"_That_, was embarrassing." Sophia groaned after class had let out and the four were in the elevator heading back up to the main floor.

"He likes you." Rogue supplied. "He wouldn't have done that if he didn't like you."

"You really think so?" Sophia asked and Rogue nodded.

"It's his way."

"You know him best." Sophia whispered with a sigh.

The doors opened and the four stepped out.

"We'll see you guys later." Bobby said as he and Rogue headed towards the mechanics classroom.

Sophia nodded. "Later."

–

Twilight approached quickly and after homework was done, and dinner had been eaten, the four friends went their separate ways once again. Bobby and Rogue, once again, made their way down to see Kitty, while John and Sophia took a walk around the school grounds.

"I can't wait for it to snow." Sophia said with a thoughtful sigh.

"Why?" John asked with a chuckle. The only think he liked about snow was melting it.

"Home. It reminds me of home."

John's brow furrowed together. "Where are you from again?"

"Colorado."

"Ah, that's right." He hesitated before asking his next question. "What's it like there?"

She smiled. "It's beautiful. Everything is bright and green, but what isn't green is white and smooth. Some days I miss it."

"And others?" John pushed.

She shook her head. "Lets just say that I'm _really_ glad I'm here."

"Me too."

She stopped walking and looked at him curiously.

John bit the inside of his mouth. He hadn't meant to say _that_. Finally, after an incredibly awkward stretch of time, he took a deep breath, deciding that now was as good a time as any. "I have to ask you something."

"Oh?" Her eyes were bright with curiosity.

John nodded and took another breath. "I was wondering, and it's okay if you don't feel the same way I do, if you felt something..._stronger_... than just 'friendship' between us."

She thought for a minute. It was such a long minute that John thought for sure she was going to say 'no'. Finally, she nodded.

"Yeah. I actually do."

His heart lept in his chest.

"Good." He grinned. "Because I was wondering if you wanted to..." He hesitated, suddenly loosing his courage.

"Wanted to... what?" She pressed.

"Go out...with me...on a date." Finally, the words were out in the open.

She studied his face and he noticed that with each passing second, the corner of her lips turned up more and more.

Nodding, she finally got her answer out. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes." She took a deep breath in. "I would _love_ to go out with you."

His face burst into a grin and he lent in, placing a kiss on her cheek.

---

**A/N: Yay! They're together! ^_^**

**Review.**

**Reviews cheer me up.**

**The other day my dad and brothers went on a 15 mile bike ride. Not even 1 mile into it, I took a nasty spill and scraped my knee and hands up. It's pretty bad. There was a fair amount of blood.**

**Secondly, I had my first day of school today. It was terrible...**

**Review!**


	10. In Love

He seemed to be able to focus better the next day, and credited it to finally asking her out. Everything that was being taught in art, mechanics and math went in one ear and out the next. The only thing he could think about was getting to forth period. English. Seeing her.

It was insane. He never imagined a girl would have this kind of effect on him. It was a new feeling. A wonderful feeling. A confusing feeling. He liked this feeling.

"Do pages one-fifteen to one-sixteen. Problems one through twenty." Emma Frost said, and that was all it took. He stood up, quickly gathered his things and bounded out of the room and down the hall to English. He reached the door and quickly ran over to his seat. His heart beat fast in his chest when he saw her. She was sitting in her chair talking to Kateryna Lipko, aka Hummingbird.

"Hey." He said as he slid into his seat. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"Hey yourself." She turned back to Kateryna. "Talk to you later?"

Kateryna nodded, and in a thick Ukraine accent said, "Yes. We can talk later." Kateryna turned and made her way back to her desk at the front of the class room.

"How are you?" John asked sweetly and Sophia grinned.

"Just dandy. You?"

John grinned. "Same. Anything new?"

Sophia sighed and put on a thoughtful face. "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. I got asked out by a really cool guy last night."

"Really?" He asked, playing along and trying his best to keep from grinning like an idiot. "Do I know this 'guy'?"

Sophia nodded, her lips pursed. "Yep."

John laughed. "Then I'm sure he's a really great guy."

"Oh, he's the best. Really funny and sweet. Hot too."

John blushed slightly. "Should I be jealous?"

Sophia appeared to think for a minute. "Yes, I think you should be."

John tried hard to keep from smiling, but ended up failing miserably. Sophia's face burst into a grin too, and she giggled.

A 'bamf' from the front of the classroom shattered their moment and they reluctantly looked away from each other.

"Guten tag." Nightcrawler greeted. "Would you be so kind as to take out your English books and turn to page one-sixty-five. Today, we are going to continue our lesson on pronouns."

About two minutes into the lesson, John placed a piece of paper on Sophia's notebook. She glanced at him curiously, and noted that his eyes were focused on Nightcrawler. _Too_ focused. She looked down at the paper and read it's contents.

_Hi._

She smiled and wrote a greeting back.

_Hey._

Then she passed it back to John. Moments later it reappeared in front of her_._

_What's up?_

She turned her head and glared at him, but his nose was in his book. She wrote a quick response.

_Listening to Nightcrawler. Which is the same thing you should be doing._

She passed it back to him and watched out of the corner of her eye as he scribbled back a response.

_I'll get my notes from Bobby. This is a lot more fun anyway._

She smiled and added on to their list.

_I have to agree with you on that. I guess I can copy notes from someone._

She passed it back and waited while he responded.

_That's the spirit. You shouldn't always be the good girl, you know. Have a little fun sometimes._

She scoffed and quickly wrote back.

_Who are you calling a good girl, buster? And, for your information, I do have fun._

She saw him smirk, glance over at her and then cover the paper as he wrote.

_Oh. I forgot. You braid Rogue's hair, don't you._ _I'm sure that's fun._

She knew that he was just teasing, but he was really starting to piss her off. She roughly took the paper and wrote in bold letters:

_BITE ME!_

She heard him snort beside her, but he quickly covered it up with a cough. Moments later the paper was in front of her again. She glanced down and read the new line of text. She grinned and felt her cheeks grow hot.

_Gladly._

She cast a sideways glance at him and saw that his eyes were on hers. After thinking for a minute, she slid the paper back across the table and watched as he read what she had written.

_Maybe someday, I'll let you._

His eyes widened as he read and re-read the five words that she had written in her neat script.

He thought for the remainder of class, trying to figure out something as good or better to respond with. The bell rang, and after not coming up with anything, he scrabbled a simple word, slid the paper to her and said his goodbyes.

After he had made his hasty departure, she looked down at the paper and laughed.

_Cool._

–

It was one hour. One hour until he could see her again. Actually, it wasn't even an hour. It was more like forty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes until he could see her again. Forty-five painfully _long_ minutes. He was going crazy. Each word Storm said bounced right off of him as if he was protected by an invisible forcefield. He didn't gather anything about the history of the first mutant and human encounter. And what did it matter? He didn't need to know this. No one in the classroom needed to know this. It was history. Happened in the past. No need to dig it back up.

He turned his attention back to Sophia. Her laugh. Her smile. Her voice. He'd heard about love at first sight, but he'd always thought that it was a lie. Until this moment. It was there in Storm's political science class that he realized that he was in love with his classmate, Sophia Lockhart.

This realization made him grin.

–

They met up again in chemistry, and began passing the note again almost as soon as class had started.

_How was political science?_

John hesitated before writing his response. He wanted to be honest with her, but he couldn't tell her about his realization. Not yet. It was too soon.

_Boring. Who cares about our first encounter with humans. Leave the past in the past._

He heard her chuckle.

_I know, right? I enjoy learning about the history of us, but do we really need to extend a simple discussion to a week long seminar? It's kind of crazy._

He smiled. He was definitely in love with her.

_Exactly._

The passing stopped for a few minutes before the note slipped into his line of sight. He looked down and frowned.

_So, where is it exactly you are going to take me on our date?_

He thought about lying, but decided to be truthful.

_I haven't really thought about that. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?_

He watched her face as she read, and felt a wave of relief when she smiled.

_There are tons of places that I would like to go, but since you did the asking, you have to figure out where to take me._

He pouted.

_Come on. One hint. It's not fair. I'm not the psychic._

She smirked and passed the note back to him, shaking her head as she did.

_As long as you're there, anywhere will be fine._

He grinned, blushed slightly and had to focus hard on Wolfsbane to keep from freaking out.

–

**A/N: How was that? I'm feeling very romantic with these two. Hope I didn't cause anyone to lose their lunch. Or breakfast or dinner...**

**Review! I demand it! Even if it's just to say 'nice'. I want to know how many people are reading this.**


	11. The Wedding

**A/N: Okay, I realize this might not be the best X-Men fic you've ever read, but come _on._ Out of 2,594 hits, I've only received 33 reviews. 16 of you lovely (and loyal) reviewers have added this story to your alerts, and 10 have favorited it. Is it really _that_ bad? If it is, someone, _please_ tell me! Seriously!**

**I apologize for the delay, but I have been busy. School sucks.**

–

It was the day of the wedding. Storm had manipulated the November weather so that it was in the high seventies to low eighties. Perfect outdoor wedding weather. The wedding was to be as fancy as possible, but not fancy enough so that everyone had to go out and buy nice clothes. Rogue had convinced Sophia to borrow one of her dresses, and the girls were currently in their room putting the finishing touches on their makeup.

"I love weddings." Rogue said dreamily as she brushed her cheeks lightly with blush.

"I've only been to one." Sophia muttered. "My mom's."

Marie looked over at her friend, a sympathetic look on her face, but remained silent.

A few minutes passed before Marie spoke again. "I heard the darndest thing from Bobby."

"Hm?" Sophia asked as she put on a coat of lip gloss.

"He said that you're dating John."

Sophia froze and looked over at her friend. Marie's eyes were narrowed and her arms were crossed.

"It's not a rumor, is it?"

Sophia stayed calm as she capped her lip gloss, put it away in the desk drawer and turned to face Marie.

"So what if it isn't." She challenged.

Marie sighed. "Sophie! He's dangerous, he's a bad influence and I don't want to see you get hurt!"

"No one's going to get hurt." Sophia said in almost a growl.

Marie didn't flinch. "John's gone from being a sweet guy to being distant to being the enemy back to being a decent guy. You never know with him."

"Then it's a good thing I can see the future." Sophia shot back. Internally, she was pleased with herself for that comeback.

Marie's eyes narrowed more and she turned to face the mirror.

"You're one of my closest friends. Some might even refer to you as my _best_ friend. I don't want to stand by and do nothin' while another friend huts you. I'd kill myself if that happened."

Sophia studied her roommate for a minute before sighing. "Hey, look at me."

After a second of hesitation, Marie turned around.

Sophia smiled a small smile. "You're my best friend too. I appreciate you're thinking, but John's _not_ going to hurt me. He wouldn't dare. He knows that I can kick his ass if he did. And besides," she paused and grabbed Marie's gloved hand, "I'll know if he's going to end it. Lighten up. For me?"

Marie looked unconvinced for a bit longer, but then smiled. "Alright. I'll lighten up. I have no doubt that you can handle yourself. But, if you ever need anythin'..." She trailed off and Sophia grinned.

"I'll come running to you."

–

"I don't understand why us students were invited to the wedding." John complained as he tied his tie. Bobby chuckled and John sent him a dark look. "I'm serious. Why would they want _us_ there to ruin their 'special day'." He used his fingers to create quotation marks around the last two words.

"It's been made clear several times by Storm that this isn't just a school, it's a family. It makes perfect sense to me why they'd want us there. And besides, its being held _here_. They can't exactly get married and order all of us to stay in our rooms." Bobby replied as he tied his shoes. John rolled his eyes and made a face. "Anyways, I thought you'd be excited for this."

John snorted. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because," Bobby began, his blue eyes twinkling, "you'll get to see Sophia all dolled up."

John scowled, but inside his heart lept. He sent a glare at Bobby via reflection in the mirror and began to comb his hair.

–

Marie and Sophia were sitting in their seats out on the Mansion lawns when John and Bobby appeared next to them.

"Just in time!" Marie scolded. "The wedding's about to start!"

"Sorry," Bobby panted, "someone was obsessed over his hair." He sent a pointed look at his girlfriend and they smirked.

Sophia sniggered at Bobby's comment and John's eyes narrowed.

"You spent like, ten minutes, tying your shoes! Don't point the blame at me!"

"Whatever." Bobby mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Can we sit down?" John asked impatiently. The girls had taken the aisle seat and the one next to it, leaving two seats in the middle.

Sophia nodded. "Sure." She stood up and Rogue followed.

It was then that John noticed what his girlfriend was wearing. Sophia was wearing a light blue, spaghetti strapped dress that came down to just above her knees, and silver high heels. She had simple diamond studs in her ears and a long silver chain around her neck. Silver eye liner outlined her eyes and made her blue eyes pop dramatically, while her hair was pulled up into a fancy up-do.

His breath caught in his throat and he faintly heard Bobby's catch too. He glanced quickly at Rogue and was surprised to see that she was stunning too.

Marie was wearing a dark green dress with thick spaghetti straps. It came down to her knees, but was cut diagonally so that it trailed down to her calves. Her feet were clad in simple black peep toe pumps and, unlike Sophia's silver jewelry, she had chosen gold. Small gold hoops in her ears and a small golden locket, which Bobby had given her, was around her neck.

John was shaken from his staring when Bobby cleared his throat. "You guys look...great!"

Sophia and Marie shared a look before turning back to the boys.

"Thank you, Bobby." Marie said.

"You two don't look too shabby yourselves." Sophia said as she eyed them up and down. Then she laughed. "And we all match!"

John and Bobby looked down at their shirts and chuckled. It was true. Bobby had dressed in a light green dress shirt, tan pants and brown dress shoes, while John had chosen an ice blue shirt, black pants and black dress shoes.

"You guys!" A voice called out and everyone on the grounds turned towards the source of the noise. Hailee Bensen, aka Hacker, was running up the aisle, hand in hand with her boyfriend Carter Franklin. "Logan's coming!"

The murmur started up again almost immediately. The wedding was going to happen. The groom was on the way.

Sure enough, not even a minute later, the front doors of the mansion burst open and Logan sauntered out onto the lawn in a suit.

There were gasps and there were whispers. No one had ever seen Logan in a suit, but he looked fantastic.

Logan quickly made his way up the aisle and took his place next to the minister who was waiting under a trellis that was covered in roses. He sent a quick glare at Agents Kimball and Samburg, who were sitting in the front row. By Immigration Service policy, they had attended the wedding, and both men were hoping it wouldn't go through.

All of a sudden, Tony Perkins, aka Boombox, began playing Mendelsohn's Wedding March. Everyone, automatically, turned around, and at the end of the aisle, was Storm. She was accompanied by Beast as she made her way slowly down the aisle, her white dress swishing at her feet. Everyone was stunned. The long, white, flowy dress was so different from her usual apparel that was her tight black leather combat suit. And Beast! Beast was wearing a tuxedo and looked especially handsome.

Finally, she reached the end of the aisle and took her place standing across from Logan.

The minister glanced from the bride to the groom and then into the audience. "We may begin!"

–

"That was such a beautiful ceremony!" Rogue said tearfully during the reception.

The other's nodded in agreement as they watched Storm and Logan dance on the basketball court. The court had been decorated so that it now barely resembled a court. Christmas lights had been stung all over the fence, giving it a magical and romantic glow, and folding chairs were in their proper places at tables that were placed every few feet. The table set up was absolutely breathtaking. Crystal plates and glasses were placed in front of the chairs next to real silver silverware, and a rose centerpieces was in the middle of each table.

Storm and Logan's first dance song, A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton, ended, and another song began to play. Quickly, students began to file onto the court and began dancing and laughing.

"_There's only one thing, to do, three words, for you...I love you."_

John looked over at Sophia who was swaying slightly to the music. He cleared his throat before standing and walking over to stand in front of her. She looked up and her eyes twinkled.

"I'm sure you already know what I'm going to ask." John began and Sophia smiled. He cleared his throat again and put his arm out. "Can I have this dance?"

Sophia's smile turned into a grin and she nodded, took his arm and stood up.

"But of course."

And with that, the two made their way onto the court.

–

**I said this a few days ago to my friend in an IM conversation: I was thinking today. I haven't written anything (serious) in a while. That might account for my foul language and poor attitude... I'm also surprised Stephanie hasn't jumped through the screen and strangled me for not writing any X-Men...**

**Sorry for the wait, Steph!**

**So I've made a big decision. Because ideas keep coming at me, and I love what I've built, I plan on doing a _sequel_ and then a _threequel_. Maybe even some one shots here and there! This is the _plan_, but of course, sometimes plans get cancelled...**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner! Reviews are encouraging! Review!**


	12. Girl Talk

**This is the day after I posted chapter 11. Lets see how fast I can write this/post it.**

--

_Fear. Pain. Unkind images were flashing through her mind with impossible speed. She could only catch bits and pieces, but she knew that they weren't pleasant..._

-

Sophia woke with a start and flew into an upright position, panting and covered in a cold sweat. She glanced over at Rogue's bed, but had to wait while her eyes adjusted to the dark. She sighed when she saw that her friend was still sound asleep, and continued to sit there for a moment longer while she caught her breath. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and sighed when she saw that it was only six twenty. Running a hand over her face, Sophia sighed. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep. After a moment longer, she rolled out of bed, went over to her dresser, pulled out some clothes and slipped into the bathroom.

Minutes later, she emerged dressed in sweatpants and her Bromley Brooks School hooded sweatshirt. As much as she hated Bromley Brooks, the sweatshirt was very nice. It was extremely warm and it was also a reminder as to how far she had come. She pulled on a pair of thick wool socks and slipped out of Rogue's and her room and out into the hall.

Sophia wandered around the school aimlessly for a while before she stopped in front of a door. She hesitated for a minute before grasping the handle firmly. Slowly, she turned it, and pushed the door open slowly before creeping inside.

Once inside, she let her eyes adjust to the dark before she took another step into the room. The moment she could see, she smiled. Her eyes scanned over Bobby's bed to John's. He was asleep on his side, and looked adorable and peaceful. She smiled softly and brushed her hand across his forehead, pushing the hair out of his eyes. He smiled slightly at her gentle touch and Sophia felt her heart flutter. No guy had ever made her feel this way. But then again, she'd never had had much contact with boys. At least not for a few years. But he got her. He understood her better than anyone ever had. He cared about her, and he was just as broken as she was. They were different. Outcasts. They understood each other better than most people understood each other. It was nice.

She placed her hand on his cheek and gently lent in, placing a kiss on his forehead. She let her lips linger there longer than necessary. She was surprised at how normal it felt. Surprised at how much she liked it.

Reluctantly, she pulled away and turned around, heading back out into the dimly lit hallway.

Sophia had never been around the school when everyone was still sleeping. It was almost eerie. It was incredibly quiet, way quieter than a school should be. Dark too.

She made her way to the living room and peered around the corner. Jones was sitting on the couch, surfing through channels. Sophia knew that he never slept, but since she didn't know him that well, decided to keep wandering. She turned around and silently crept back down the hallway and into the elevator. When the doors closed, she pushed the button marked 'basement' and lent against the white walls of the small box. Once the doors opened, she made her way out into the brightly lit white hallway. It had been five days since the attack outside the club, and Sophia hadn't seen Kitty yet. She figured now would be as good a time as any. Today, everyone had school off, so the infirmary would, most likely, be packed with students visiting Kitty Pryde.

Sophia slowly made her way into the room, that resembled a flower shop due to all the bouquets and cards, and crept to Kitty's side.

"Hey, Kitty." She whispered, her hands going to the rail of the bed Kitty was laying in. "You've missed a lot while you've been out. John and I are dating." She smiled. "I bet you never _saw_ that coming. Heck, _I_ never even saw it coming, and _I'm_ the psychic!" She laughed slightly. "Logan and Storm got married yesterday." She laughed again. "You are going to be so lost when you wake up!" Her face fell. "Which is going to be soon. Everyone's going crazy without you. Jimmy's...Well, he's not himself. He barely talks. Sometimes he barely eats. At dinner he just pokes at his food. It's sad. He sits with you whenever he gets the chance. Sometimes he falls asleep here and Piotr has to carry him back to his room." She frowned. "You have to wake up for him. You have to wake up for us. We miss you, Kitty." She stood there, completely silent. Waiting for Kitty to wake up. Hoping that _her_ words meant more than everyone else's. More than Kitty's close friends, her boyfriends and her teachers words did. But after two long minutes, nothing happened. Kitty's eyes remained closed. The heart monitor that was beeping steadily didn't increase or even decrease in its annoying, loud, sad tone.

--

**Okay. So, it's short. It didn't reach the '1,000 plus words' quota that I like each of my chapters to have, but consider it a filler. The action will start soon. Kitty will reawaken. Magneto will strike again in some way or another. : ) Please review.**

**Happy Halloween, guys! Guess what I went as?!**

**...**

**An X-Men! No one special, but since Sophia's based after me, I guess I went as Sophia! I might post pictures somewhere... I'll let you now.**

**Oh! I set up a WetPaintWiki account dedicated to characters created in my stories. So far the only people there are the X-Men characters I created. Check it out! The link is located in my profile!**


	13. The Bet

**A/N: Guys! I'm back! For now. Sorry it took me so long! I feel absolutely terrible! This chapter is mostly fluff. Cuz I know how much you all enjoy it. *winks***

**Enjoy!**

**--**

By the time she returned upstairs, the sun was almost all the way up in the sky, and students and staff were lounging around in the kitchen and living room. She her familiar voices and followed them into the kitchen.

"Hey." Sophia greeted and she slid into a chair next to John.

"Shut up." John greeted, sending a death glare at Bobby.

Sophia's eyes went wide and she looked over at Rogue, who looked extremely bored.

"The baseball bet." Rogue said absentmindedly as she picked at her fingernail, and Sophia rolled her eyes.

"I will not shut up. You owe me a fifty." Bobby said smugly and if it was possible, John's face darkened.

"The bet was twenty-five." John complained.

"Yeah, it was. Until you got cocky and doubled it." Bobby shot back and John's face went from a glare to a scowl.

"I did _not_ get cocky. It just started looking good for the Philly's.

"Yeah, and then you got _cocky_."

John let out a sigh and then jumped when he noticed that their table had gained a guest. "When'd you get here?"

"A few minutes ago." Sophia answered, an amused smile on her lips.

"I noticed you were gone this morning when I woke up." Rogue said, suddenly remembering her roommates empty bed. "Thought it was unusual since I usually have to get your lazy butt outta bed for class."

John's eyes went from annoyed to concerned in record time. "You okay?" He whispered.

Sophia felt her cheeks turn hot at the sudden change of focus. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep. Too much excitement last night." She lied smoothly. "I wandered around a bit and then went and sat with Kitty."

"She's going to be really surprised when she wakes up." Bobby said with a smile.

Sophia grinned. "That's exactly what I told her."

--

Later that morning, the living room cleared out, and a small group of older students, Sophia and John included, quickly filed in with the intent of a movie marathon.

"What's on the list?" John asked as he put on the back of the couch behind Sophia.

"We have The Proposal!" Kenzie Tate exclaimed, aka Stockholm, a rare smile on her face.

"Really? That movie looked really good!" Sophia said with a grin, bouncing in her seat.

John smiled at his girlfriend's excitement and put his arm across the back of the couch behind Sophia. "Let's just hope that they didn't show the best parts in the promos."

--

Halfway through the movie, John felt Sophia stiffen.

"What?" He asked, instantly alarmed. Sophia stayed still for a moment before turning to face him.

"Hide."

"What?"

"Hide!" She exclaimed, pushing him up off the couch.

"Where?" John asked, a puzzled look was set on his face.

"Behind the couch!" Sophia hissed, frantically.

John ducked behind the couch just in time. The second after he disappeared from view, Bobby entered the doorway.

"Sophia," he began, "where's John?"

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think I know where he is?"

It was obvious that Bobby was now uncomfortable. His face turned slightly pink and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I, just…"

"Just what?"

"Just figured that since you're dating him, you knew …where he…was."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Great logic there, Iceman." Bobby's face grew pinker and Sophia smirked. "No, I haven't seen my boyfriend." Bobby nodded and turned to leave, but Sophia cleared her throat. "Bobby?" She asked in a sweeter voice than normal. Bobby stopped and turned around. "Do you know where Rogue is?" She blinked innocently, her face blank.

Bobby's eyes narrowed and he turned again, storming off down the hallway.

The room was quiet for a minute before it erupted into laughter.

"That was great!" Mikayla Hadley, aka Luna, cried and Symon Lipko, aka Hyrtz, nodded from beside her.

John stood up from his place on the floor and quickly jumped over the back of the couch. He leant over and quickly kissed Sophia on the cheek. "Thanks."

She nodded. "Yeah, sure, anytime. Now, can we please get back to the movie?"

--

Out of fear of running into Bobby, John had Sophia bring his dinner to his room. Not wanting to be the third wheel, Sophia brought her own food up as well, and the two were sitting on the floor by John's bed, eating their stir fry.

"This is so lame." Sophia hissed and John glared.

"Is not."

"Oh, you're right. Sitting on the floor of your room, hiding behind your bed, eating your dinner, in order to not pay a fifty dollar bet, is totally in style." She voiced sarcastically.

John scowled. "I hardly have any money. I can't go handing it out like party favors."

"Then you shouldn't have upped the bet!"

John pouted. "Then the Philly's shouldn't have won the fifth game!"

Sophia chuckled. "You're losing it." There was a silence between the two for a few minutes before John spoke.

"It's partly your fault, you know."

Sophia's mouth fell open. "Oh, I need to hear your logic for _this_ one, Johnboy."

"You could have told me who won."

"And how would I do _that_?"

John used his pointer finger to tap his head and Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Two things. One, it doesn't work that way. I can't see something that aren't set in stone. Baseball, and pretty much all other sports, all depend on talent and chance. I had no way of knowing who won, nor by how much."

"And two?" John asked, dreading the answer.

"I wouldn't have told you anyway. It wouldn't have been fair."

John stuck out his bottom lip slightly. "Fair? I'm dating you! We're not supposed to have any secrets!" At this, Sophia threw her head back and laughed. "It's not funny!"

"It's hysterical! You're just to pissy to appreciate it!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are!"

There was another silence, mostly because John knew Sophia was right, but partially because he was stalling on what he was about to say. He looked up and noticed that Sophia was eyeing him expectantly.

"Would you _please_, stay out of my head?!"

Her face went from expectant to shocked. "I wasn't in you head!"

"You were trying to get in! I know that look!"

It was Sophia's turn to scowl. "Fine, you caught me. But the only reason I was trying to get in, was because you're acting weird. I want to know what's wrong."

"You could have just asked!"

"True, but it's more fun this way. And I don't learn anything by not using my powers. You _do_ want me to learn, right?" She stared hard at him, her eyes twinkling.

John returned the hard stare for as long as he could, but finally let out a breath. "Yeah."

"So, what's got you all hot and bothered?"

John sighed, realizing quickly that there was no way out of this. "I was just trying to figure out the best way to tell you where we're going to go. For our date."

Sophia's eyes lit up and her face visibly brightened. "Yeah?"

John nodded. "How do you feel about bowling?"

Her face broke into the biggest grin John had ever seen her make. "I haven't gone bowling in forever!" She squealed.

"So this is good?"

"It's _great_!"

John smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but the door flew open and Bobby barged in.

"Pay up." He ordered, hovering over the happy couple.

John's eyes flashed and he began to speak, but Sophia put a hand on his arm.

"Just pay him. He's not going to leave you alone until you do."

John's face scrunched up into a hateful grimace as he dug into his back pocket in search for his wallet. With more force than necessary, he slapped the two twenty's and a five into Bobby's outstretched hand. Bobby winced, but smiled, then turned to leave. Once the door shut, John turned back to Sophia.

"You might have to spring for this date. I think I'm all out."

Sophia grinned and a giggle escaped her lips. John took one look at her face and couldn't help but laugh too.

--

**A/N: I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I HAVE NO EXCUSE.**

**Actually, I do.**

**School.**

**But please, don't yell at me. I feel terrible.**

**Please review, too. My birthday's in 2 days! SWEET 17! YAY!**

**I'll try to make a faster update. I swear.**

**Stay with me, folks!**


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